Anika McCauley entered into her next life at 7 a.m. on May 11, 2020. Though she overcame many challenges in her lifetime she could not overcome the challenges of a glioblastoma brain tumor.
Anika was born Nov. 3, 1960 in Shelby, Montana, to James W. and Betty J. Sigurdson. Jim’s job with Mountain Bell Telephone took the family from Shelby to Great Falls, Fort Benton and finally Boulder. Anika graduated from Jefferson High School in 1979.
After graduation she followed in her family’s footsteps to Mountain Bell, where she became a telephone operator in Helena. This didn’t appeal to her so she went to work on the construction of the interstate between Boulder and Butte.
On Aug. 21, 1982 she married James T. McCauley at St. Catherine’s Church in Boulder and they began a 38-year ranching business together. In June of 1990 two little girls arrived to complete the family. Anika loved animals and was always there to fix a calf’s broken leg, replenish liquids to a scouring calf and many cold newborn calves would be warmed up on her kitchen floor in front of the wood stove. On the ranch she was always willing to help with whatever needed to get done. She would swath hay, sort cattle, drive the pickup and stock trailer, flag for traffic on the highway as cattle were being moved, cook hot meals for the crew and run for parts to repair the latest breakdown.
Anika graduated from the College of Great Falls in 1991 and began her career in education, first teaching in Cardwell and then junior high at Boulder Elementary from 1993-2016. She was a jack-of-all-trades teacher and was always asked to take on new projects, eventually diversifying her subjects taught to science, geography, reading and art. Many students would come back to visit her while in high school and thank her for the wonderful science foundation they received in her classroom. Anika was always ready to volunteer to take the junior high students on their end of year trips, collaborating with the junior high staff on where to go in order to make each trip fun while being educational. She was twice nominated for Montana Teacher of the Year. A highlight of her career in education was becoming Nationally Board Certified in 2014, a credential that only about 10% of teachers nationwide achieve and only 150 in the state of Montana.
Anika retired from teaching at the end of the 2016 school year. On July 1st 2017 she was appointed Jefferson County Superintendent of Schools, a position she held until February, 2020 when ill health forced her resignation.
One of Anika’s dreams was to own her own home and this was accomplished in 1999 when the family built their forever home south of Boulder. Anika was very talented. If she needed or wanted something done she would figure out a way to do it. She was an accomplished artist. She played guitar, drew numerous pictures and painted signs for the fairgrounds, ranches and her parent’s business. In 2017 following the death of her mother-in-law, Eve McCauley, Anika took over the family Christmas wreath business until 2019 when she became too ill to continue.
Anika was very involved in her community through the years. She served several terms as treasurer of the Boulder Rodeo Association and secretary for the Jefferson County Rodeo. She was also a founding member of the Boulder Celebrations Committee, a board member of Big Brother and Sisters, and a member of the Boulder Area Chamber of Commerce. She restarted the 4H Club in the Boulder area.
Anika enjoyed camping and learned how to fly fish. She would gather a group of friends and head out to some gorgeous area for the weekend. She enjoyed entertaining and hosting friends and neighbors. Anika was always the life of the party and had so many stories to tell! She loved to travel and was especially happy to visit Homer, Alaska, with her husband, sister and brother-in-law. While there, they went fishing for salmon and saw abundant wild life, even running into a grizzly bear on the river! Anika’s final trip was a cruise with family to Ireland, the British Isles and France. Upon return home she was diagnosed with cancer. She hoped to see Cong, Ireland and Homer, one more time — who’s to say she hasn’t already?
Anika was preceded in death by her parents and her favorite dog, Grace. She is survived by her husband James, daughters Amber (Colton) Price of Pony, and Kindle (Andy) Van Dyken of Toston; four grandchildren; sister Michele (Stan) Renskers of Boulder; brother James (Cindy) Sigurdson of Reno, Nev.; brother-in-law and sister-in-law Mike and Lori McCauley of Cut Bank; and several nieces and nephews.
A celebration of Anika’s life is planned for Aug. 8, 2020, 1 p.m. at their family home in Dry Creek, where there is plenty of room for social distancing (if that is still necessary). The celebration will be presided by Decon Bernard McCarthy. Anyone wishing to make a memorial donation can do so to St. John’s Cemetery Fund, The Boulder Monitor COVID-19 fund or to the donor’s choice.
The family would like to extend a most sincere thanks to the doctors and nurses at St. Peter’s Cancer Treatment Center, Paul and Jenn at Frontier Hospice, weekend caregivers Peg Hasner and Pixie Roeber as well as Michele and Stan Renskers. We especially appreciate all the support, prayers, donations and cards from Boulder area residents over the last nine months.
